Mecha Profile: Gundam Age

Every gundam tv series has an ultimate final arc upgrade for the protagonist – usually a Gundam with extremely high performance and insane ability. For Amuro in UC, it was the Nu Gundam/Hi-Nu Gundam. For Advanced Generation, the ultimate upgrade for the 3rd generation Asuno pilot is a mobile suit that reflect that sort of power: the Gundam Age-FX – the final evolution of the AGE System.

I. History:

– After Kio was rescued from the Vagan’s homeland, he returned to the Earth Federation safely with his father. However, the Age-3 Gundam was complete damaged beyond repair, and from its battle with the Vagan’s new Gundam – the Legilis – it’s clear that the Age-3 cannot keep up with it. So the Age-3 was salvaged and the AGE System began developing an all new Gundam for Kio.

– The Age-FX Gundam was completed when the Federation began the operation to claim their Moon base. The Age-FX was designed specifically for an X-Rounder so Kio felt a much higher sense of unity with the suit compared to the Age-3. This allowed him to fight effectively without taking the enemy pilot’s life. Despite protest from Flit and the Diva’s MS team captain, Kio firmly believed that his way of fighting will open a new future for both humanity and Vagan.

– During the battle for the Moon base, the Age-FX was up against a defect pilot from the Federation – Girard Spriggan – and her X-Rounder ability went berserk, causing her MS to hijack all the remote X-Rounder weapons in the area, including the Age-FX’s C-Funnels. This drove her insane but the Age-FX was unable to take action because all X-Rounders in the area was affected by Girard’s mental. Eventually, Flit was able to shoot her down.

– Afterwards, Kio piloted the Age-FX to fight in the final battle of La Gramis. The Age-FX proved to be un-matched in battle. Zeheart used Fram to lure Kio and the Age-FX along with the other Gundams into the superweapon’s line of fire, but thanks to the Age-2 Dark Hound, all 3 Gundams managed to evade the shot while Fram perished. Afterwards, Kio engaged the Vagan Gear in battle – the ultimate mobile armor of the Vagan – piloted by Zera Gins. Unexpectedly, the Sid mobile armor appeared and forcefully fused with the Vagan Gear – becoming a berserk mobile armor that hit both the Vagan and the Federation. Ultimately, Kio was able to defeat the mobile armor and even rescued Zera from the wreckage as the Age-FX destroyed the Vagan Gear Sid.

II. Technical Specs & Armaments:
– The Age-FX stands at 18.5 meters and weighs 63 tons, making it the second heaviest Gundam in the Age line-up. The weight is most likely due to the C-Funnel equipped around its body. The Gundam has a white and blue color-scheme with yellow accents. Unlike previous Age Gundams, the Age-FX does not have any red on it.

– As the successor of the Age-3, Age-FX has a Core Block system, but instead of becoming the chest and head of the Gundam, the FX’s Core Fighter only serve as the control block and back propulsion of the Gundam. However, the Core Fighter can be mounted with 2 large C-funnels and 2 small C-funnels.

– The Age-FX standard armaments include 2 fore-arm beam sabers and the Stungle Rifle – which is an upgrade of the SigMaxiss Rifle. The Stungle has 2 modes: Normal modes where it discharges pink beams with high frequency, and a Charge mode where the barrels fold out to release a much more powerful blue blast. Just like the SigMaxiss, the Stungle is also capable of equipping an expansion module called the Daidal Bazooka – an attachment that allow the weapon to fire the powerful blue blast at a faster rate. However, the weapon has limited energy, so it is possible to empty out and render the weapon useless.

– The Age-FX most iconic weapons are the C-funnels – which are also the first remote weapons in the Age line-up. C-funnels utilize the Age-1 Sparrow’s Shiguru blade technology to make remote-controlled blade weapons. The C-funnels have 2 versions: a longer and larger style and a shorter one. The C-funnels are controlled using the antenna at the back of the Gundam’s head. With Kio’s powerful X-Rounder ability, the C-funnels can be used to attack multiple enemies as well as performing defensive action at the same time. The green blade on the funnels is extremely sharp and durable, able to cut through Vagan armor and block attacks with ease. Their high speed and versatility make them an efficient and effective weapon to disable enemy’s units – according to Kio’s fighting style. In addition, the funnels can create a spherical defensive field around the Gundam. In a way, the C-funnels are very similar to the 00-QanT’s GN bits.

– The Age-FX was made to accommodate an X-Rounder’s extensive ability, with the Psycho Follow system that allows the Gundam to keep up with a strong X-Rounder’s reflex as well as control the C-Funnel. FX stands for Follow X-Rounder.

– The Age-FX’s ace up the sleeves is the FX Burst Mode – an extreme mode that disables the Gundam’s limiter and maximizes the Age-FX’s output. When in this mode, the Gundam turns entirely blue and blue beam blades are emitted from ports all around the suit, including the C-funnel docks. While in this mode, the Gundam’s speed and power increase significantly at the cost of accuracy, and the C-funnel cannot dock onto the Gundam itself. The Burst Mode is capable of wiping out groups of enemies if needed be.

III. Gallery: